Term 4, 2021 W10 School Newsletter

Acting Principal, Sonya Wilson

Dear Parents/Carers

As the end of the term and school year quickly draws to a close we celebrate the achievements of 2021 and plan whole school and community events for 2022. This week we have commemorated the graduation of our Year 6 students. This significant milestone was celebrated with a graduation dinner and dancing at Fitzy’s Loganholme on Sunday evening. The students acknowledged significant events of the year including sporting competitions and Camp Mapleton. Students confirmed that Gala sporting events allowed them to learn how to win with humility and lose with grace while building team skills and sportsmanship. Camp Mapleton was a wonderful opportunity for students to challenge themselves, build self-confidence and connections with their peers. Individual student achievements were acknowledged at the Graduation Ceremony with awards. Congratulations!

We wish our Year 6 students and their families a fond farewell and know that this is the beginning of the next exciting phase of their lives.

As the Year 6 students handed over their leadership responsibilities, the Year 5 students have selected their leaders for 2022. We are a proud to announce our new student leaders and look forward to viewing their accomplishments and achievements. Students will be inducted in a Badge Ceremony Friday 4 February. Families are invited to attend this ceremony as part of our whole school assembly.

Congratulations to our Year 5 student leaders.  

The new school year will commence on Monday 24 January 2022. Today, students have had the opportunity to meet their teacher and visit their new classroom with their new classmates. Based on current enrolments we anticipate 16 classes for 2022. The teachers are excited to be meeting their new students.

To facilitate a smooth start to the school year the P&C will again provide the opportunity for families to drop off book packs – Wednesday 19 January 8:30am-1:00pm in the Under Covered Area. The book packs will then be transported to classrooms in preparation for the first day. This generous offer is designed to make the first day of school a little smoother for families. Thank you P&C for your kindness in arranging this process.

We wish all our families a safe and happy holiday and look forward to being back with you in the new year.

Kind regards

Sonya Wilson

A/Principal

School Watch

School holidays start on Saturday, 11 December 2021 and school resumes on Monday, 24 January 2022. We hope that you all have a safe and enjoyable break.

Deputy Principal, Kerry-Ann Reese

Report Cards

This week your child’s Semester 2 report card will be emailed. This report includes a rating on your child’s academic achievement, effort and behaviour, as well as comments made by your child’s teacher/s to provide valuable information regarding their progress so far this year. We encourage all families to take the time to discuss your child’s report card with them to identify areas of success and to set goals for achievement in Semester 1 next year.

As you would be aware, the introduction of the Australian Curriculum means that our students are being assessed against the standards outlined in the Australian Curriculum in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Technology, The Arts and HPE from Prep to Year 10.  The level of achievement your child receives in each of these areas is determined by how well they have achieved the required national standard, not on how well they have achieved compared to others in their class.

In Years 3 to 10, when reading your child’s report card, it is important to understand what each level of achievement means. Achieving a ‘C’ means that a student has achieved the required standard for their year level as outlined in the Australian Curriculum. In general, it means that students can understand learning considered essential for their age. Students who achieve A’s and B’s have generally demonstrated an extension of the required standard for their year level, such as applying learning in abstract and unfamiliar contexts.

Students receive a ‘D’ when they have not yet achieved the required standard for their year level, however are working towards it and continue to learn and develop. Students who receive an ‘E’ are experiencing difficulty and require intervention and support. Whatever rating your child receives, the teacher’s comments will inform you how hard they are trying and describe the progress being made.

It is important to note that in the Year 3 to 6 report cards; the effort and behaviour ratings are as follows: Excellent, Very Good, Satisfactory, Needs Attention and Unacceptable.

In Year 1 and 2 we continue to use the five point scale of Very High, High, Sound, Developing and Support Required to report on student achievement in all areas of Academic, Effort and Behaviour.

Prep has been recognised as the first year of schooling in Queensland since 2012 and utilises a five point scale of Applying (A), Making Connections (MC), Working With (WW), Exploring (E) and Becoming Aware (BA) to report on student achievement in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, History, Music, HPE and Geography. A student’s effort and behaviour is reported via a teacher’s comment.

Our Vision is to provide a safe and effective learning environment characterised by quality relationships, quality work habits and optimum outcomes for all members of the school community. The school’s motto ‘Success with Effort’ is reflected in our commitment towards continual learning and growth. For some students, regardless of their level of achievement, their rating is a result of them applying themselves and working extremely hard to reach their full potential. These students should feel proud of their efforts and be congratulated.

We trust that you find the information in your child’s report card informative. We welcome parents to discuss any aspect of the report card with the classroom teacher.

Academic Performance, Leonie Barnham

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  The tree is up, school is coming to an end and the Christmas shopping has begun (fingers crossed!!). 

As you choose gifts for your children this Christmas, my question is ‘will they be receiving a book?’

Reading is like almost everything else in life.  The more you do it, the better you get at it. 

Research into reading for enjoyment indicates that regular recreational reading offers significant benefits for literacy development.

As well as greatly enhancing literacy outcomes, reading for pleasure also extends students’ background knowledge of the world.  It allows them to make connections and fosters their creativity and imagination.

The impact of reading aloud to children cannot be underestimated. ‘The benefits of reading to students on a daily basis cannot be disregarded or downplayed’ (Lowe, 2016, p. 38). Trelease states that ‘the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children’.

The benefits from regular reading aloud to children include the ability to provide them with a wide variety of genres and topics. It immerses them in rich language and can assist in comprehension, particularly when the book is discussed after reading.  Reading aloud provides an opportunity for children to hear intonation and fluency of a text which they themselves can emulate in their own reading.

So how do we encourage children to read for pleasure? 

According to guidelines from the UK Literacy Association, children are more likely to read for pleasure when this behaviour is modelled by the adults in their lives. Read together.  Take time out to find a quiet space and read together. 

Read all things. Children love non-fiction as well as fiction stories.  Comic books can be a lot of fun to read.  Recipe and craft books can be read together and then food cooked and items made afterwards.

Let them choose.  Research shows that children are more inclined to read when they get to choose.  Have a variety of books at home to choose from.  Visit the local library or local book swap.  Find the nearest second-hand book shop and get lost for hours.

Try audio-books for those long drives.  Have children tell you about what they read at the other end.  This will definitely quell the ‘are we there yet!’

As Carbrook State School’s Academic Performance Coach, it has been a privilege to provide intervention and enrichment to our students.  I thoroughly enjoy supporting the work of our great teachers. 

As another year ends I would like to wish everyone a happy, safe and healthy Christmas.  I look forward to seeing you all in 2022.

Carbrook's Got Talant

It was such an enjoyable time sharing the Carbrook’s Got Talent final performances in the classrooms. There were lots of cheering, laughs and clapping coming from each of the rooms.

Thank you again to all of the students who submitted entries. We wouldn’t have been able to put on a show without you. A big congratulations to our three winners. First place went to Alex and runners up were Callum and Scout.

We look forward to seeing even more entries next year!

Music, Melissa Dillon

Christmas concert 2021

Students had a wonderful time rehearsing and recording their Christmas performance for 2021.  We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas break and a joyous New Year.  Please click the correct link below to watch your child’s video.  Each video was recorder in their class groups.  Year 3 students are the exception.  If your child is in 3C please check with them if they have their lessons with 3A or 3B (they will be in one of the year 3 videos if they were present on that day).

Instrumental Music, Grant Johansen

The recruitment process is well underway for both strings and band students.  Please ensure you return these notes to your class teacher or Mrs Dillon as soon as possible, even if you are not going to participate in the program.  Please feel free to email Mrs Dillon if there are any questions. (mbudd20@eq.edu.au)

On Thursday November 25, Carbrook was lucky enough to have our band perform before school.  This group consists of first, second and third year players.  Please find four videos attached of the performance pieces.  Congratulations to these students once again!